An electrical connector is revealed that has unique useful characteristics. A sheet metal fork supplies the stored energy that imparts a force to a second member—a plunger that makes contact with the mating circuit. The plunger can be configured to increase or decrease the force or deflection and can be designed with various connection ends with different contact characteristics.
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1. An electrical connector comprising:
a connector body; and
compliant contacts within the body;
wherein each of the compliant contacts includes a plunger and a receiver;
wherein the plunger is movable relative to the receiver and the connector body to put part of the plunger within part of the receiver or part of the receiver within part of the plunger, to resiliently deform the plunger and/or the receiver, to thereby provide a force of the compliant electrical contact to engage a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact external to the connector body; and
wherein each of the contracts has a plastic slider that surrounds one of the plunger and the receiver, wherein the plunger makes sliding contact while sliding in a channel within the connector body.
11. An electrical connector comprising:
a connector body; and
compliant contacts within the body;
wherein each of the compliant contacts includes a plunger and a receiver;
wherein the plunger is movable relative to the receiver and the connector body to put part of the plunger within part of the receiver or part of the receiver within part of the plunger, to resiliently deform the plunger and/or the receiver, to thereby provide a force of the compliant electrical contact to engage a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact external to the connector body;
wherein each of the plungers slidingly engages a channel within the body; and
wherein at least part of the channels are tilted, such that tips of the plungers initially engage at an angle respective external contact surfaces that are to be electrically connected to the contacts, and then wipes along the contact surfaces as the plunger is deformed; and
wherein the plungers include plastic sliders that slidlingly engage walls of the channels.
2. The electrical connector of
3. The electrical connector of
5. The electrical connector of
6. The electrical connector of
7. The electrical connector of
8. The electrical connector of
9. The electrical connector of
10. The electrical connector of
12. The electrical connector of
13. The electrical connector of
14. The electrical connector of
16. The electrical connector of
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This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/048,148, filed Feb. 19, 2016, which claims priority under 35 USC 119 to U.S. Provisional Application 62/118,120, filed Feb. 19, 2015, and to U.S. Provisional Application 62/191,557, filed Jul. 13, 2015. All of the above applications are incorporated by reference in their entireties.
This invention is in the field of electrical connectors, and contacts for electrical connectors.
An electrical connector device common in the Industry for decades is known as the pogo pin. These devices are typically cylindrical with a pin-like plunger and a helical coil spring, the combination of which forms a compression connector. The pin is urged by the spring into a mating surface which is an electrical connection point. These devices are most commonly used in testing equipment where unusual surfaces must be accommodated and usually require good reliability over many cycles. These devices are not normally used where very high bandwidth is required nor are they typically designed into input-output (IO) devices such as cable interface and permanent circuit board to circuit board connectors. Also typical of these pogo pin devices is reasonably high cost of manufacture and an electrical current path that is not clearly defined.
A spring-loaded connector attacks many of the shortcomings of the previously-mentioned pogo devices. In addition this connector lends itself to a variety of applications, which the former is not uniquely qualified for.
According to an aspect of the invention, a compliant electrical contact includes: at least two conductive elements (or members); wherein one of the conductive elements has a portion within and movable relative to a portion of another of the conductive elements; and wherein the relative movement of the conductive elements provides a force of the compliant electrical contact against a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact, making an electrical connection with the conductive pad or the noncompliant contact.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the elements include a plunger, and a receiver for receiving the plunger.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the receiver is a fork with a pair of tines, and the plunger engages the fork between the tines.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the plunger resiliently bends the tines by insertion between them.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the plunger can also include a pair of arms or beams that resiliently deform as the plunger is inserted into the receiver.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the plunger will have a hard stop feature or features.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the receiver elements are captured in a header.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, at least some of the elements are secured in the connector by retainers that pass into closed or open holes or elongate slots in the elements.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, at least some of the elements are replaceable elements.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the receiver includes a pair or more of identical fork elements that form a laminate whose thickness is equal to a single fork thickness.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the laminated fork elements engage the same plunger.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the fork elements have substantially the same shape.
According to another aspect of the invention, an electrical connector includes: a header with one or more fork elements imbedded therein; and a companion plunger for each fork element; wherein, each pair of fork and plunger form a conductive electrical path; wherein the relative movement of the conductive elements provides a force of the compliant electrical contact against a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact, making an electrical connection with the conductive pad or the noncompliant contact.
According to another aspect of the invention, an electrical connector includes: a header; and compliant contacts within the header; wherein each of the compliant contacts includes at least two conductive elements (or members); wherein one of the conductive elements has a portion within and movable relative to a portion of another of the conductive elements; and wherein the relative movement of the conductive elements provides a force of the compliant electrical contact against a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact, making an electrical connection with the conductive pad or the noncompliant contact.
According to another aspect of the invention, the plunger in contact with both tines of the fork receiver forms a redundant or parallel electrical path.
According to another aspect of the invention, the total compliant deflection of the electrical path formed by the conductive elements is a constant times the number of forks in the electrical path.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a compliant electrical contact includes: a pair of conductive elements that include: a plunger; and a receiver; wherein the plunger is movable relative to the receiver to put part of the plunger within part of the receiver, to resiliently deform the plunger and/or the receiver, to thereby provide a force of the compliant electrical contact to engage a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact external to the compliant electrical contact.
According to a further aspect of the invention, an electrical connector includes: a connector body; and compliant contacts within the body. Each of the compliant contacts includes a plunger and a receiver. The plunger is movable relative to the receiver and the connector body to put part of the plunger within part of the receiver or part of the receiver within part of the plunger, to resiliently deform the plunger and/or the receiver, to thereby provide a force of the compliant electrical contact to engage a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact external to the connector body. Each of the contracts has a plastic slider that surrounds one of the plunger and the receiver, wherein the plunger makes sliding contact while sliding in a channel within the connector body.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, for each of the contacts, the plastic slider is overmolded onto the plunger.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, for each of the contacts, the plastic slider has a bulged center portion that contacts walls of the channel.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the bulged center portion has a curved surface.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, for each of the contacts, the slider is made of a PTFE-filled nylon.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the housing has internal pins, in the channels, that act as stops for travel of the plunger.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, when the plungers are sufficiently pressed into the body, the stops engage the sliders such the plungers are elastically deformed, thereby moving tips of the plungers perpendicular to longitudinal axes of the contacts in which the contacts move within the channels.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, at least part of the channels are tilted, relative to the longitudinal axes of the contacts.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the tips of the plungers are linear tips.
In an embodiment according to any one or more paragraphs of this summary, the at least parts of the channels are tilted 1 to 5 degrees, relative to the longitudinal axes of the contacts.
According to a still further aspect of the invention, an electrical connector includes: a connector body; and compliant contacts within the body. Each of the compliant contacts includes a plunger and a receiver. The plunger is movable relative to the receiver and the connector body to put part of the plunger within part of the receiver or part of the receiver within part of the plunger, to resiliently deform the plunger and/or the receiver, to thereby provide a force of the compliant electrical contact to engage a conductive pad or a noncompliant contact external to the connector body. Each of the plungers slidingly engages a channel within the body. At least part of the channels are tilted, such that tips of the plungers initially engage at an angle respective external contact surfaces that are to be electrically connected to the contacts, and then wipes along the contact surfaces as the plunger is deformed.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The annexed drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, show various aspects of the invention.
An electrical connector is revealed that has unique useful characteristics. A sheet metal fork supplies the stored energy that imparts a force to a second member—a plunger that makes contact with the mating circuit. The plunger can be configured to increase or decrease the force or deflection and can be designed with various connection ends with different contact characteristics.
As an alternative to pogo pins, an electrical connector may have a series of compliant contacts that include plungers engaging compliant members. In one embodiment the compliant members are forks that receive portions of the plungers between tines of the forks, such that movement of the plungers in an axial direction resiliently moves the tines laterally outward, making contact between the plungers and the compliant members.
The hole 20 may be a round hole, and/or a hole that has about the same shape as that of the retainer 15 that is in the hole 20. The retainer 15 may thus keep the fork 14 in place relative to the connector body of which the retainer 15 is a part. The hole 21 has an elongate shape that is larger than the retainer 12 in an axial direction, the direction of the connecting force F. This allows the plunger 11 to move relative to the connector body.
The tip (or connection end) 16 at the opposite end of the fork 14 from the tines 18 and 19 may be connected to a wire of a cable, or to another electrical conductor. The rounded or otherwise narrowed plunger end 26 may protrude from the connector body, for coupling to contact pads or contacts of another connector.
The connection end 16 of the fork 14 may be used to connect that end of the contact to another conductive member. For example the connection may be used to make connection to a cable or to a circuit board.
The plunger 11 and the fork 14 may be made of a suitable electrically-conductive material, such as copper or nickel-plated copper. The connector body that includes the body retainers or hard stops 12 and 15 may be made of a suitable plastic, such as a suitable thermoplastic.
Many alternative configurations are possible. For example, one alternative would be a ramped member, akin to the plunger 11, having a connection end and being fixed relative a connector body, while a forked member, akin to the fork 14, has a rounded or otherwise narrowed end for coupling to contact pads or other contacts, and is able to move in an axial direction relative to the connector body.
The contact 10 may be used in connectors of any of a wide variety of configurations. Some examples of such connectors are described below, but should not be considered limiting.
The multiple contact forces yield the same functional dynamics as the one piece fork with a fraction of the wear at the surface. For the same precious metal plating thickness, many more cycles would be allowed before the protective layer is compromised, or for a given number of cycles, less plating thickness would be required to achieve similar performance, which yields a cost savings. The multiple forks provide multiple contact points, double the number of contact points relative to an equivalent single fork, thereby providing better electrical contact.
In other respects the contact 40 may be similar to the contact 10 (
The contact 60 allows use in a right-angle configuration of connector. For example a tip or connector end 66 of the fork 62 may extend from a connector body (not shown in
The housing 131 may be a single unitary continuous plastic piece that surrounds the fork elements (tines) 118 and 119, as well as including the stop 129 and a protrusion 132 into a hole 134, to hold the receiver element 116 in place. The movement of the plunger 115 within a contact channel 140 allows a plunger tip 144 to extend and retract from the connector body or housing 131.
The tines 120 and 121 have end portions 150 and 151 with ramped (sloped) outer surfaces that engage inner surfaces of the tines 118 and 119. The end portions 150 and 151 may be thicker than other parts of the tines 120 and 121, to limit the travel of the tines 120 and 121, and/or to prevent unwanted deformation of the tines 120 and 121.
Some of the features of the contact 100, such as the connector body or housing 131 with the channel 140 therein for receiving parts of the contact 100, may also be a part of other embodiments described herein, such as the embodiments described above. In addition, features of the other embodiments may also be similar to features of the contact 100; these similar features are not repeated in the description of the contact 100.
The arrangement of the connectors 410 and 412 may be advantageously usable in a variety of situations. For example the connector 412 with the noncompliant contacts 422 may be part of a device which would be exposed to an environment in which delicate contacts were prone to contamination (such as by dirt, moisture, etc.) or physical damage. In such an environment traditional protruding male contacts or traditional female receptacles (for receiving male contacts) may be unsuitable because of the danger of damage or fouling. However use of the connector 412 with the noncompliant contacts 422 does not present the same danger of damage or fouling of contacts, since the noncompliant contacts 422 are flush or nearly flush with the surrounding nonconductive part of the connector 412.
In one example, the noncompliant connector 412 may be part of a handheld device that is used in potentially damaging environment. After the device is used in the potentially damaging environment, it may then be taken to a different (safer) environment, where it is interfaced with another device, for instance to transfer data. The connector 410 with the compliant contacts 420 may be part of the device with which the handheld device interfaces with.
The contacts 610 have linear tips 622 at ends of plungers 624. The linear tips 622 may be at a 90-degree angle relative to the longitudinal direction along the contacts 610, the axis of motion of the plungers 624. The contacts 610 also have split ends or forks 626, the operation of which is described above in relation to other embodiments. (The forks engage other contact parts, such as receivers, that are not shown in
With attention in particular to
As shown in
The tips 622 may have a slightly curved shape, for example having the shape of a portion of a cylinder that is perpendicular to the axis of motion of the plunger 624. The cylinder portion that is the shape of the tips 622 may be an arc of 15 to 30 degrees, although this range is only an example and should not be considered limiting. The curved tip surface avoids any sharp edges coming into contact with the surface or pad 650 as the tip wipes across the contact surface 650. Contact from sharp edges could dig into the pad 650 or scrap the pad 650, causing damage which would be undesirable. This shape may also provide a larger Hertz stress, which yields a lower contact resistance. The wiping action of the tip 622 across the pad or surface 650 may remove any contaminants on the surface 650, such as a thin layer of oxide from corrosion, thereby providing a better electrical connection.
One or more of the features of the contacts 610 may be incorporated in other embodiments described herein. Examples of features that may be incorporated in other embodiments are one or more of the plastic slider 614, the linear tip 622, and the channel 616 with an angled portion that causes the tip to wipe across a conductive surface that the plunger 624 engages.
Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described elements (components, assemblies, devices, compositions, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such elements are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any element which performs the specified function of the described element (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiment or embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been described above with respect to only one or more of several illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiments, as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
Venaleck, John T., Crofoot, Larry M.
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